trading places

Today a crazy thing happened. Through some kind of magic osmosis, Cornelius and I exchanged places. At 7pm tonight I realized that I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast! Instead of thinking about food, figuring out what I could prepare for dinner, or checking the fridge for snacks, I was lost in a pile of freelance work. I didn't think about food or eating once. Cornelius, on the other hand, called me from work to tell me that he felt guilty because he went out for dinner at a restaurant I've been wanting to go to for a while now. Now, this may not seem strange to you, but I know Cornelius. When we first started dating, I asked him what his favorite food was, and he replied "uh...flour?". You see, Cornelius couldn't really care less about what goes into his mouth. He's definitely thankful that he gets to share in the food bounty I cook up, but as long as his stomach isn't rumbling, he doesn't worry about it. So it was a definite shock that he not only told me about going to Senhor Rooster, but he raved on and on about how amazing the food was, intricities on the preparation of the food, about how there was a magazine doing a shoot the same time as he was eating and how he got to speak with the chef. Grrrrr!

But no worries, dinner is better late than never in my opinion! So at 7:30 tonight, I got back onto the computer and checked out Joe's recipe archives at Culinary in the Desert. I landed on the Broccoli Cheese Pie and dinner was settled. By 8pm, dinner was in the oven and 45 minutes later, I was able to cut myself a nice piece of cheesy, broccoli goodness. Delicious! And in just a few minutes, Cornelius will return from work and eat his second dinner of the night. Hmph!

Broccoli-Cheese Pie
(Adapted from Culinary in the Desert)

4 large eggs
1 1/4 c skim milk
1 t hot sauce
1/4 t salt, or to taste
1/4 t freshly ground pepper
2 c cubed multigrain bread
3 c broccoli florets & stems
2 t olive oil
1/4 c black forest ham
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c grated cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat a 10" pie dish with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Add bread cubes and stir to coat. Set aside.

3. Steam broccoli until bright green and just tender. Chop coarsely.

4. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add ham and stir about until heated through. Add the onion mixture and broccoli to the egg mixture. Stir in cheese. Pour into the prepared pie dish and evenly spread the mixture.

5. Bake until light golden and set about 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes and then cut into wedges.